London needs a dedicated traffic police

On the way to a birthday party in Bucks on Sunday night we were delayed by a long tailback on the elevated section of the A4 out of London by what turned out to be a broken down van. On his way back to London over an hour later my driver reported that the van was still there, the police had eventually arrived but were doing nothing to move it and the tailback to get past it was now all the way back to the Hogarth roundabout.
 
Our inconvenience was small in the grand scheme of things: we were 45 minutes late for a party. But think of all the planes missed at Heathrow, the subsequent lost business appointments or family reunions, the delay in getting home for those who’ve been working all day — or with a car full of tired kids who need to get to bed.
 
But nobody thinks of the cost and pain of such delays.